Sometimes the Sisters don´t listen to me. This is very frustrating and I think is the reason my shower still isn´t fixed after 3 weeks. (some sort of wiring problem between the light and the shower - I can´t use both at the same time or the lights in my room turn off along with the lights in the kitchen, the dining room, and the work room of the house. Yea, weird. So I´ve been showering by candle light.) Here is my most recent example of them not listening to me.
I am asking a clarification question on what has already been said.
Me: So the teachers want to change the schedule of classes for next year?
Sister: No, this year is over.
Me: Right, so they want to change the schedule for next year.
Sister: Yes.
sigh.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Working Door
I never did say what happened with the door to my room, but it`s all fixed now. Swings open and closed without effort and the doorknob locks and unlocks just like it`s supposed to. :) Good times.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Empanada
The other day I went about my merry way with the Interna´s doing their chores when one of the Interna´s - Eva - approached me while eating an Empanada. She offered me a bite and I took one. Quite tasty. Basically, it was cream inside a corn mixture wrapped in a banana leaf. Must have been cooked in a stove, it was good.
When I told Eva I liked it, she offered to bring me some from her home. I said that would be fabulous, so a few days later her mom brought Soli and I 3 Empanadas each. These, however, were a bit different. They were filled with cream on the inside of a corn mixture, but then they were fried in oil (I think deep fried is more accurate) and rolled in sugar. Oh my aching arteries (and waistline)! I ate one. That was enough. At least they are small. All I could think of was a deep fried Twinkie and how the oil squishes out of the empanada just like it would on a twinkie. Yeah. Dripping with oil.
So, I read a little about empanadas.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empanada#El_Salvador
Not surprisingly, the term in El Salvador can be used to mean appetizer or dessert, and they have changed what used to be similiar to a pasty from the UP (nice, healthy, meaty meal) into a sweet heart attack machine.
I learned early on in my stay here that a quesadilla here is very sweet as well. Nothing like the cheese filled tortillas I´m used to in the States. But then, they do love their sweets here.
When I told Eva I liked it, she offered to bring me some from her home. I said that would be fabulous, so a few days later her mom brought Soli and I 3 Empanadas each. These, however, were a bit different. They were filled with cream on the inside of a corn mixture, but then they were fried in oil (I think deep fried is more accurate) and rolled in sugar. Oh my aching arteries (and waistline)! I ate one. That was enough. At least they are small. All I could think of was a deep fried Twinkie and how the oil squishes out of the empanada just like it would on a twinkie. Yeah. Dripping with oil.
So, I read a little about empanadas.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empanada#El_Salvador
Not surprisingly, the term in El Salvador can be used to mean appetizer or dessert, and they have changed what used to be similiar to a pasty from the UP (nice, healthy, meaty meal) into a sweet heart attack machine.
I learned early on in my stay here that a quesadilla here is very sweet as well. Nothing like the cheese filled tortillas I´m used to in the States. But then, they do love their sweets here.
Goodbye Play
The students put on a play in honor of Solidea leaving. They did this Thursday morning and the play, while overly long and poorly put together, also had nothing to do with Solidea leaving and was incredibly creepy. They actually acted out a play on CD. You can listen to some tracks at http://store.mercadocristiano.com/obmubpaclpe.html . I recommend track #3, imagine listening to these voices echoing off gymnasiasm walls - very disturbing. A nice thought, but really disturbing. While watching the play, I leaned over to Solidea and said, ¨I think they want you to leave.¨;)
Friday, August 28, 2009
Dancing
Solidea is leaving very soon - next Wednesday! I am so very sad! On the plus side, the Interna´s wanted to put together a couple dances for her so I´m helping choregraph one and I get to dance as well. We´ve been dancing for the last hour or so and those girls are a hoot! We should dance everynight! (which we have been for the last week)
Since the second song is a mix of songs, there are 2 Michael Jackson songs, so I did the choreography for those since what the girls initially put together was terrible. As an example of one of the moves they used for the Thriller song, think of Tim Allen´s movie Galaxy Quest and how the aliens walked - that was a good chunk of their choreography. No worries, I have changed all that. The best part is teaching the moves to the girls. I borrowed a lot of the moves directly from the MJ videos and didn´t realize the girls have never done any moves like that before. Very funny to watch them try! Teaching them was a challenge, so I simplified most of the moves, but even walking to the beat has proven to be a challenge!
I can´t wait until Tuesday when we perform these for Solidea. Solidea will have her camera so there will be video (I told her to ¨be prepared¨ for Tuesday night, but it´s still a ¨secret.¨ Yeah, she already knows).
Since the second song is a mix of songs, there are 2 Michael Jackson songs, so I did the choreography for those since what the girls initially put together was terrible. As an example of one of the moves they used for the Thriller song, think of Tim Allen´s movie Galaxy Quest and how the aliens walked - that was a good chunk of their choreography. No worries, I have changed all that. The best part is teaching the moves to the girls. I borrowed a lot of the moves directly from the MJ videos and didn´t realize the girls have never done any moves like that before. Very funny to watch them try! Teaching them was a challenge, so I simplified most of the moves, but even walking to the beat has proven to be a challenge!
I can´t wait until Tuesday when we perform these for Solidea. Solidea will have her camera so there will be video (I told her to ¨be prepared¨ for Tuesday night, but it´s still a ¨secret.¨ Yeah, she already knows).
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Licuado
Fabulous! I like very much. Basically smoothies, but simpler. Take a fruit, add water or milk, a little bit of vanilla flavoring, put it all in a blender and blend! They like to add sugar here too, but I usually have it without, because it´s not necessary, but they sure do like their sugar here! Licuados, I love them. My favorites are bananas and milk. It´s so simple! This will come home with me. Now if we only had coconut vendors at home, fresh coconut milk from coconuts recently knocked off the tree is right there with Licuados!
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
When the Washing Machine stops working. . .
. . . your clothes smell really bad.
Soli and I put our clothes in the washing machine yesterday. Then we turned it on. When it finished, our clothes smelled terrible! Really, really, bad. It seems it didn´t actually clean our clothes, but took the worst smelling, added a smell enhancer, then spread it around to all the other clothes in the machine. Ugh!
So we left the clothes in the machine, added more soap, and turned the machine back on. The second time they smelled clean, which is definitely preferable. I think I´ll wash my clothes more frequently by hand so we can avoid the use of the slowly deteriorating washing machine.
Soli and I put our clothes in the washing machine yesterday. Then we turned it on. When it finished, our clothes smelled terrible! Really, really, bad. It seems it didn´t actually clean our clothes, but took the worst smelling, added a smell enhancer, then spread it around to all the other clothes in the machine. Ugh!
So we left the clothes in the machine, added more soap, and turned the machine back on. The second time they smelled clean, which is definitely preferable. I think I´ll wash my clothes more frequently by hand so we can avoid the use of the slowly deteriorating washing machine.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
No Door
I really wish I could get to my camera to take a picture of this. I was in my room writing a letter when Manuel came to put on the new doorknob. In order to do so he had to beat on the door a bit to get the last pieces of the old doorknob off. I continued to write my letter so didn´t notice that the beating actually caused the top part of the door to break off its rusted hinges. When Sor Olinda came in and started making funny comments that I should feel more secure if we just got rid of the door all together, I took a look. At this point, it´s so ridiculous it is funny. We had a good laugh about it and I said I could just hang a sheet up in place of a door.
Right now they are working with a torch type thingy (can´t remember what it´s called) to reconnect the door to its rusted hinge. Okay, works for me, just don´t take anything from my room please!
Right now they are working with a torch type thingy (can´t remember what it´s called) to reconnect the door to its rusted hinge. Okay, works for me, just don´t take anything from my room please!
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Weather
If I had to guess, I would say it´s going to rain today. I only say that because it rains everyday. And I just know things like that. I like the rain.
Controversy
There has been quite a bit of drama over my stolen computer. The one Interna who was at the school (whom I shall call Lily) when my computer was stolen received the brunt of the accusations. I had talked to Lily to ask her point blank if she had broken into my room and taken my computer. She told me no. I believed her. I believed her because I never suspected her in the first place. I´ve known her for 7 months and she is not the type of person to steal. At any rate, I informed her that the principle would be talking to her as well and explained why the Sister´s believed she could have taken it. She acknowledged what I said and we continued with our day.
The next day is the day my license went missing and then mysteriously reappeared - something Lily could not have done. And yes, I do believe the license and the computer are connected. I didn´t get a chance to tell the principle about this before she talked to Lily. I heard from the other interna´s how upset Lily was by the conversation and I learned from Lily how the principle accused her of taking the computer - which wasn´t done very nicely.
Unsure if they were going to take steps to punish her for a crime she didn´t commit and for which there was no hard evidence to convict her, I finally got a hold of the principle two days later (she is hard to get a hold of!). I explained what happened with the license and everything seems to have been dropped now. Lily feels better and for that, so do I.
As to what happened to my computer, who knows. I only hope the people who have it erased everything to resell it so that none of my sensitive information gets used. Really don´t want identity theft!
The next day is the day my license went missing and then mysteriously reappeared - something Lily could not have done. And yes, I do believe the license and the computer are connected. I didn´t get a chance to tell the principle about this before she talked to Lily. I heard from the other interna´s how upset Lily was by the conversation and I learned from Lily how the principle accused her of taking the computer - which wasn´t done very nicely.
Unsure if they were going to take steps to punish her for a crime she didn´t commit and for which there was no hard evidence to convict her, I finally got a hold of the principle two days later (she is hard to get a hold of!). I explained what happened with the license and everything seems to have been dropped now. Lily feels better and for that, so do I.
As to what happened to my computer, who knows. I only hope the people who have it erased everything to resell it so that none of my sensitive information gets used. Really don´t want identity theft!
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Open Doors
The battle became legendary in its proportions. First, the keys for the door were useless in our efforts to open my bedroom. Next, we tried putting flat objects in the space between the doorknob and the wall to no avail. Several Sister´s tried shoving every key in the house (of which there are 10 million, give or take) into the doorknob, but the door refused to reveal it´s contents. With my head hung low, I headed to my next class only to discover that one of the Sister´s had set up presentations with the students during my class time, so I had no students to teach. In desperation, I called to Solidea and together we approached - the ¨Door.¨
Mighty and imposing it appeared. A hapless key caught in it´s maw, sat in the lock with it´s keychain dangling listlessly, a victim to the demonic door. Without reserve Solidea quickly tried several implements to unlock the door to no avail. Not wasting any time, she moved on to the next prospect - time to take out our frustrations on the door!
5 minutes later the door stood open and broken. Victory!
We ended up using a chair to knock off the doorknob. Once we figured out how the inside components worked, we had the door open and then gleefully tore off the handle on the inside as well. So, while my room is hardly secure at this point, we had a lot of fun destroying the doorknob and laughing at our ridiculous ideas to open the door. Don´t worry, if needed I will pay for the doorknob, I´m just happy to be able to enter my room again.
Mighty and imposing it appeared. A hapless key caught in it´s maw, sat in the lock with it´s keychain dangling listlessly, a victim to the demonic door. Without reserve Solidea quickly tried several implements to unlock the door to no avail. Not wasting any time, she moved on to the next prospect - time to take out our frustrations on the door!
5 minutes later the door stood open and broken. Victory!
We ended up using a chair to knock off the doorknob. Once we figured out how the inside components worked, we had the door open and then gleefully tore off the handle on the inside as well. So, while my room is hardly secure at this point, we had a lot of fun destroying the doorknob and laughing at our ridiculous ideas to open the door. Don´t worry, if needed I will pay for the doorknob, I´m just happy to be able to enter my room again.
Locked Doors
I´m having trust problems. The problem is I don´t trust anyone anymore. My computer has been stolen, problem number 1. Then yesterday, while preparing to go to the supermarket with Solidea I couldn´t find my license. I always take my license when I go to have some form of ID should it be necessary for whatever reason. I always leave my ID in the same box where I leave my passport and extra cash, which I keep hidden. It wasn´t there. I decided to look for it after we got back from the supermarket.
When we got back, I opened the box to put back the extra cash and there, sitting on top of everything, was my ID. It was not there when I left. Someone had it and returned it while I was out. This made me very angry. First the other room isn´t secure and the Sister´s suspect the Interna´s of taking my computer. Now I´m in the house with the Sister´s and someone takes my ID. At least that rules out the Interna´s. But who can I trust?
So I got the keys to my room and always lock the door now. I stipulated that I didn´t want anyone to enter my room without my knowledge and I also found the second set of keys and hid them. This morning I couldn´t get my door to lock. Now, I can´t unlock it to get in. Sigh. I´m off to class.
When we got back, I opened the box to put back the extra cash and there, sitting on top of everything, was my ID. It was not there when I left. Someone had it and returned it while I was out. This made me very angry. First the other room isn´t secure and the Sister´s suspect the Interna´s of taking my computer. Now I´m in the house with the Sister´s and someone takes my ID. At least that rules out the Interna´s. But who can I trust?
So I got the keys to my room and always lock the door now. I stipulated that I didn´t want anyone to enter my room without my knowledge and I also found the second set of keys and hid them. This morning I couldn´t get my door to lock. Now, I can´t unlock it to get in. Sigh. I´m off to class.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Guatemala
If I ever had any doubts about jumping a plane to another country with nothing more than the plane ticket I wouldn´t worry now. After traveling to Antigua and Lake Atitlan in Guatemala we found so many hostels, ATM´s, and helpful English speaking tourists (and helpful Spanish speaking locals) that you wouldn´t have to worry about a place to stay, food to eat, money to spend, or items to buy. I would say that Antigua and Lake Atitlan are good places to start for an adventuring pilgrim because they are very touristy. This way you can get acclimated to your surroundings, ask around for the places to visit, do a little research yourself, and then work your way into less touristy places - like Soyapongo! Ha!
In Guatemala there really isn´t one common language. A lot of the people know or speak some Spanish, but most of the locals (not really in Antigua, more at Lake Atitlan) speak a Mayan dialect of some kind. When I went to Mass on Sunday in San Pedro - one of the cities around Lake Atitlan - they read the Gospel in Spanish and then in the Maya dialect of that area. Felt much longer in the dialect, but then it was 6AM, everything felt longer at that hour.
Memories of the trip to Guatemala:
1. Kayaking from San Pedro to San Martin and then cliff jumping. We spent about 3 hours on the cliffs as more and more people showed up. A regular cliff jumping party! No, I did not jump from the high cliff (10 meters) only the little one (about 3 meters). It was enough for me!
2. I started the trip sick, then got better as Soli got sick, then got better as Sydney got sick, then got better, and I got sick again in the end. sigh.
3. Venders in Panajachel shoving their items for sale in front of us and then demanding that we buy something because, ¨You have money, buy something!¨ Um, you scare me, please leave me alone.
4. Meeting Seth at the beginning of our journey and then running into him at various points in both Antigua and Lake Atitlan.
5. Dancing!
6. The maze of streets in San Pedro where you can find restaurants and pubs and hangout places of all kinds.
7. Meeting people from all over the world! And from Michigan!
8. Riding a bus over cobblestone streets. The cobblestone looks cute, but that is so uncomfortable!
9. Being offered cocaine in San Pedro. San Pedro is known for it´s drugs. In fact, all of Guatemala is known for it´s drugs.
10. Dinner our last night in Guatemala. We found a little upstairs restaurant and because we were the only guests, we bonded with the waiter and his friend, so we ordered whatever we felt like eating and they made it for us. :) On the menu or not.
11. Talking with the venders. Some of them are really funny and fun to barter with. I bought the most from those ones. :)
12. Realized I know Spanish way better than 90% of the people traveling and that the locals REALLY appreciate it when you can talk with them in Spanish.
13. We didn´t really see a lot of the local Guatemalan people until we went to Mass Sunday morning. Sydney and I were the only foreigners and the church was packed. That felt really strange and cool at the same time. Definitely in the minority that day!
14. Hostels for $5 a night!
15. At least 10 degrees colder everyday than in El Salvador. How I miss using a blanket at night and not sweating every day! (which I think of now as I sweat while sitting at the computer)
16. Swimming in Lake Atitlan. How good did that feel? Forgot how refreshing a lake can be - the ocean just isn´t the same. And the ocean is really warm here!
17. Meeting other volunteers from around Guatemala.
18. Bike trip between Panajachel and Santa Catarina - the neighboring city. All uphill one way with bikes that didn´t like to change gears. But the way back was a blast!
19. Lots of pictures, no computer to download them to. I don´t have the cables to connect my camera to a computer because my computer had the video card slot that my camera uses. And I don´t think my computer is going to show up again. I´ll get Solidea´s photos and post those eventually.
20. I should be able to think of one more memory to make this a nice round 20. Oh! No mirrors in San Pedro! Our hostel didn´t have one, the bathrooms at the restaurants didn´t have them, the clubs didn´t have them - how do people survive in that city! I mean really. ;p
In Guatemala there really isn´t one common language. A lot of the people know or speak some Spanish, but most of the locals (not really in Antigua, more at Lake Atitlan) speak a Mayan dialect of some kind. When I went to Mass on Sunday in San Pedro - one of the cities around Lake Atitlan - they read the Gospel in Spanish and then in the Maya dialect of that area. Felt much longer in the dialect, but then it was 6AM, everything felt longer at that hour.
Memories of the trip to Guatemala:
1. Kayaking from San Pedro to San Martin and then cliff jumping. We spent about 3 hours on the cliffs as more and more people showed up. A regular cliff jumping party! No, I did not jump from the high cliff (10 meters) only the little one (about 3 meters). It was enough for me!
2. I started the trip sick, then got better as Soli got sick, then got better as Sydney got sick, then got better, and I got sick again in the end. sigh.
3. Venders in Panajachel shoving their items for sale in front of us and then demanding that we buy something because, ¨You have money, buy something!¨ Um, you scare me, please leave me alone.
4. Meeting Seth at the beginning of our journey and then running into him at various points in both Antigua and Lake Atitlan.
5. Dancing!
6. The maze of streets in San Pedro where you can find restaurants and pubs and hangout places of all kinds.
7. Meeting people from all over the world! And from Michigan!
8. Riding a bus over cobblestone streets. The cobblestone looks cute, but that is so uncomfortable!
9. Being offered cocaine in San Pedro. San Pedro is known for it´s drugs. In fact, all of Guatemala is known for it´s drugs.
10. Dinner our last night in Guatemala. We found a little upstairs restaurant and because we were the only guests, we bonded with the waiter and his friend, so we ordered whatever we felt like eating and they made it for us. :) On the menu or not.
11. Talking with the venders. Some of them are really funny and fun to barter with. I bought the most from those ones. :)
12. Realized I know Spanish way better than 90% of the people traveling and that the locals REALLY appreciate it when you can talk with them in Spanish.
13. We didn´t really see a lot of the local Guatemalan people until we went to Mass Sunday morning. Sydney and I were the only foreigners and the church was packed. That felt really strange and cool at the same time. Definitely in the minority that day!
14. Hostels for $5 a night!
15. At least 10 degrees colder everyday than in El Salvador. How I miss using a blanket at night and not sweating every day! (which I think of now as I sweat while sitting at the computer)
16. Swimming in Lake Atitlan. How good did that feel? Forgot how refreshing a lake can be - the ocean just isn´t the same. And the ocean is really warm here!
17. Meeting other volunteers from around Guatemala.
18. Bike trip between Panajachel and Santa Catarina - the neighboring city. All uphill one way with bikes that didn´t like to change gears. But the way back was a blast!
19. Lots of pictures, no computer to download them to. I don´t have the cables to connect my camera to a computer because my computer had the video card slot that my camera uses. And I don´t think my computer is going to show up again. I´ll get Solidea´s photos and post those eventually.
20. I should be able to think of one more memory to make this a nice round 20. Oh! No mirrors in San Pedro! Our hostel didn´t have one, the bathrooms at the restaurants didn´t have them, the clubs didn´t have them - how do people survive in that city! I mean really. ;p
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
My Computer
I just arrived back from Guatamala yesterday and there was a surprise waiting for me in my room, or rather, it was not in my room. My computer is missing. Everything else on my desk is there, though wet due to the rain and smart me leaving my windows open. However, my computer is not.
Initially I thought one of the Sister´s opened the door and removed the computer when the rain started to keep it from getting wet (really bad rain storm they tell me!), but if one of the Sister´s had removed it they would have closed the windows, which were still open. And some of the students papers are smeared illegible by the rain.
I can´t ask all the Sister´s because most of them are away on retreat until Sunday. sigh. Really hope one of the Sister´s has it.
Another surprise is that another Sister is moving into the house. This means that there is some relocation going to happen because there are not enough bedrooms for everyone. The two girls who work and live here share a bedroom and are going to move to another building. Solidea and I are going to leave our room here at the school and take the room the girls had thus leaving our room open for the Sister. One of us will still be in the other room with the Interna´s. Because the Sister´s are going to clean the rooms this week and we are leaving tomorrow for El Tunco, we are switching rooms tomorrow, I will leave all my items in the hallway of the house, and when I get back on Sunday, move everything in to the new room.
I´ll be sure to talk about my travels in the next blog post.
Initially I thought one of the Sister´s opened the door and removed the computer when the rain started to keep it from getting wet (really bad rain storm they tell me!), but if one of the Sister´s had removed it they would have closed the windows, which were still open. And some of the students papers are smeared illegible by the rain.
I can´t ask all the Sister´s because most of them are away on retreat until Sunday. sigh. Really hope one of the Sister´s has it.
Another surprise is that another Sister is moving into the house. This means that there is some relocation going to happen because there are not enough bedrooms for everyone. The two girls who work and live here share a bedroom and are going to move to another building. Solidea and I are going to leave our room here at the school and take the room the girls had thus leaving our room open for the Sister. One of us will still be in the other room with the Interna´s. Because the Sister´s are going to clean the rooms this week and we are leaving tomorrow for El Tunco, we are switching rooms tomorrow, I will leave all my items in the hallway of the house, and when I get back on Sunday, move everything in to the new room.
I´ll be sure to talk about my travels in the next blog post.
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